City council to consider removing bird friendly window requirements for some developments

The City of Winnipeg is looking at removing a bylaw to make buildings bird-friendly. Harrison Shin explains.

A City of Winnipeg bylaw passed last year to protect birds from window strikes could be scrapped in an upcoming council meeting due to complaints about cost and availability of materials.

In Dec. 2024, council approved amendments to Winnipeg’s zoning by-law on select areas of malls and corridor sites to allow multi-family residential developments in such areas. One amendment requires developers to implement bird-friendly window measures to prevent collisions.

“What we’ve heard from the development industry is that this particular prescriptive measure has made it difficult to build as-of-right housing along corridors,” a city spokesperson wrote in part. “Mainly due to challenges with sourcing compliant material and the costs associated with it.”

Kevin Fraser, associate professor in biological science of the University of Manitoba, said the by-law was only implemented about a year ago, calling the review “a surprise move.”

“It hasn’t really had its work yet for migratory birds, thousands of which are passing through our city every spring and fall on migration,” Fraser said, adding that some estimates put the number of birds that die after window strikes at 25 million every year in Canada.

Lanny McInnes, president of the Manitoba Home Builders’ Association, said the windows are specialized, requiring etching or coating – which are special orders.

“The cost increase is not insignificant for, you know – for a mid to larger multifamily project, you’re talking in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in terms of increased cost, just on the windows alone.”

McInnes pointed out that there are other factors that lead to window strikes, such as lighting, shade, and window patterns.

“While that sounds like a really awful number, it seems like something that we can readily solve,” Fraser said. “We know what we need to do to windows to make them more friendly for birds.”

As of Monday, city council is scheduled to hear the proposal on Thursday, Dec. 18.